Saturday, September 30, 2006

1) Don't let any of the other rumor sites fool ya, this deal was a shock top all. There had been speculation that Johnson was available for the past few months, but most of those rumors circulated around Eastern time zone teams(Pittsburgh/Columbus)

2) We at FAUXRUMORS were as surprised to hear about this deal as anyone. It apparently went down very quickly. Our sources in Carolina and LA didn't sniff this baby out until it was about to be announced, thus we weren't able to alert our readers to it before hand.

3) Unlike other sites we're not going to make like we knew of things in advance when we did not. This is one of those times, BUT. Unlike those other sites we can give insight into the deal that others will/can not

4) From what we're now being told there was more than a fall out with the Carolina organization and Jack Johnson. Apparently, things almost came to blows with he and Hurricane GM Rutherford. When Johnson informed the portly former goalie of his intention to return to college and possibly complete his degree (This would put his rights back into the draft) Rutherford went ballistic. Calling Johnson a "Piece of shit", among other things.

5) It was almost a certainty after this that Johnson would never don a Hurricane jersey. What was left was to see what team might take a chance of acquiring his rights with the understanding that they may lose them for nothing if he stays in school for the full 4 years.

6) As always keep it here for the latest news/rumors and discussion. Were told the Devils situation will shortly be decided.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

1) As was predicted on this site last week, Columbus Blue jacket RFA forward Nikolai Zherdev was signed to a three-year contract.2) Financial terms were not disclosed but as FAUXRUMORS reported here last week it's worth in excess of $7 million, or 2.1 mil/year.3) We again are in a position of patting ourselves on our collective backs for being the only web blog on the Internet to have this information a week BEFORE it was official4) A special thanks to " Steve " (Name changed) our source who was so kind in keeping FAUXRUMORS ahead of the curve on this one.As always keep it here for the latest!!

3) Yes, as with our first leg announced previously, it is quite an ambitious schedule. Also as we have mentioned before please feel free and write to our e-mail address(fauxrumors5@yahoo.com) to arrange a tailgate meeting in advance.4) We look forward to meeting all the many folks who have already written us, and to new readers to our site as well.As always, keep it here for the latest!

Monday, September 25, 2006

1) We here at FAUXRUMORS are VERY excited to announce the dates of our first leg of our '30 NHL cities before 2007' tour.

2) Unfortunately, despite our best efforts the schedule will not allow us to visit Dallas. ( they are on a 2 week road trip at the moment that we would be able to visit them.

3) As scheduling flights/rental cars/hotels is an arduous, sometimes daunting/ frustrating task, we were unable to get that 1 city into our itinerary. We promise our Texas readers that we will make it up to you at some point in 2007!!

5) Thankfully the members of FAUXRUMORS are all seasoned travelers, but even for them this is a very ambitious undertaking. Stay tuned as we get closer to the season for further updates. Feel free to comment/write to our e-mail address(fauxrumors5@yahoo.com) or respond to this web site so we can arrange a tail gate party before the game in your area.

6) We look forward to meeting all our loyal readers and supporters. As always keep it here for the latest!

1) At the request of several of our loyal readers we here at FAUXRUMORS will be altering our writing style. Instead of the usual paragraph form for our posts, we will now begin to use numbered bullet points

2) This in an effort to make the posts more reader friendly.

3) Feel free and continue to send in your thoughts/suggestions to our e-mail address(fauxrumors5@yahoo.com) or respond to right here to this site. Either way, we thank you for all the many kind words we have recieved.As always, keep it here for the latest

1) With all the rabid speculation running wild among the usual rumor mongers out there, we here at FAUXRUMORS did our home work to try to find out exactly what the devils plan to do about their anticipated salary cap situation.2) To that end we sent some of our best, most reliable people into 'hell' if you will, to find out what Lou plans to do with the Devils3) We also had to have our mole in the NHL NYC office give us the scoop on how the Mogilny/Malakhov situations would shake out. The rest is what we have found out, and what we expect to happen as a result:4) For one its almost a slam dunk that Mogilny will be deemed ineligible due to injury. Meaning his salary will NOT count. Malakhov is another story. He won't be allowed to be swepped under the rug.5) We're hearing that the Devils could trade his rights to a Western Conference team that has cap space for a 1st rounder. The team getting Malakhov won't really have to pay him, only loses space to sign other players this season. By doing this Lamarello will avoid having to trade any of his star players6) We're told this should all be done before the weekend is out Reemeber to keep it here for the latest!

The hugely anticipated FAUXRUMORS preseason predictions editions are set for publication by October 1. New this year will be an interesting format that we here at FAUXRUMORS have created.In place of just listing the projected order of finish from 1-16 with an explanation after each team, we will instead give a 'best/worse case scenario' range of finish.This will be based upon possible injuries, players having breakout season's etc.We feel this will give us the most ability to state why a team will do well/poorly this season.Unlike our award winning 'off season' analysis' series, we will do one conference at a time, instead of divisions.Keep it here for the latest news and hockey talk that you will not see anywhere else.

Friday, September 22, 2006

We at FAUXRUMORS are still finalizing our ambitious tour of all 30 NHL cities.Right now we are close to releasing the first leg of our journey.One of our home offices is near the nation's capitol, so we will likely start our trek out west, basically following the Washington Capitals as they make an early season West coast tour.We may alter our final schedule as the days proceed, so stay tuned, and feel free and write to us so we can all 'tailgate' before or after the games in your city.We look forward to placing faces with the many names we have heard from so far in our very busy, but short life span as one of the fastest growing hockey blogs on

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Despite the rash of recent silly Zherdev rumors, we here at FAUXRUMORS have been unwilling to 'create' a rumor d'jour. Unlike the rumor whore(eklund) we don't have paying customers who demand results. to that end, we only post credible rumors from sources close to the scene.

To that end we are hearing that secret negotiations have been on going between the 'Jackets and Zherdev's agent. We're told things are progressing well and to possibly expect a deal BEFORE the season opener. The terms being discussed are a 2-4 year deal at about 2 or 2.5 mil/year.As always keep it here for the latest

Monday, September 18, 2006

1) There has been plenty of non sensible/made up crap written by many of the more notable blogs/mainstream press concerning these2. There has even been a rumor that one would be traded for the other.To clarify for some: Nikolai Zherdev was the Bluejackets 1st pick(4th overall in 2003. Currently he's a RFA holding out for more money, and threatening to stay in Russia. Columbus GM McLean has repeatedly stated that he doesn't intend to trade Zherdev.Jack Johnson was the Hurricanes 1st selection(3rd overall) in 2005. Many have projected him as a Chelios/Pronger type of all around top 2 defensemen that any team would love to have on its roster. Apparently Johnson has decided to stay in Michigan another season which has annoyed Carolina GM Jim Rutherford, leading to the current trade speculation.3) FAUXRUMORS has done homework on both issues. Calling our contacts throughout the league. What we're hearing is that McLean IS making Zherdev available, BUT right now the asking price is so prohibitive that its unlikely a team will bite.Additionally, even if his rights are traded they'll still have to deal with getting him signed. Right now most teams have their payrolls about where they want them, and taking on additional salary isn't in the plans of too many teams. Several simply can't even if they wanted to.4) As for Johnson, our Carolina source tells us that while its true that Rutherford WAS upset at Johnson's decision to stay in school another year, he has not recently been actively shopping the blue line prospect.He did make it known this past June that he'd entertain offers, but never received anything worth while during the draft weekend, and then decided that it would be best to retain his rights and hope he plays next fall.Being that they are the defending champs Ruthrerford has Zero pressure to do anything, so why trade away one of the best defensive prospects?If we do hear anything specific, and CREDIBLE we will ofcourse relay the information to you, our loyal readers.As always, keep it here for the latest.P.S. The mail coming in, in response to our last post, has been overwhelming, and 95% positive. We here at FAUXRUMORS want to thank each and every one of you who have sent in your support!

We never expected this kind of (over) reaction to our yet-to-be released piece on 'outing Eklund'.Since we first mentioned here that we were working on a block buster of a story to not only name who this person(s) is/are, but to name names and tell folks who is backing him/them, we have received numerous hate notes both here and to our e-mail address.Some are the standard nut jobs that you find any time you have an opinion that might be a bit controversial, but more recent ones have a more intimidating/menacing/threatening tone to them.Most alarming is that some how they have even been able to get a hold of the FAUXRUMORS phone number and address. At first we would get an inordinate number of hangups. Then we started to get direct 'hatecalls', telling us that "it wouldn't be in our best interest to publish our Eklund story".We took these threats seriously, and local authorities have also begun to get involved.We have a pretty good idea of their motivation here. The information we have received on this subject so far is amazing. We can understand why some might not want it to see the light of day.Our loyal readers can be rest assured that we will NOT be intimidated by these veiled and direct threats! We are continuing our research into this important story.When it is completed it WILL be published EXCLUSIVELY here for free, for all to see first hand on FAUXRUMORS.Thankyou for all the support we have received on this matter. The positive mail has far exceeded the hate mail.As always, keep it here!

Friday, September 15, 2006

Sources in New Jersey tell FAUXRUMORS that there has been at least a hand shake agreement between Lou Lamarello, and Brian Gionta. Apparently, due to cap restraints the Devils can't sign the forward until cap space is cleared.Ostensively that will occur when Molgilny/Malakhov are either deemed injured, or demoted to Lowell, thus giving the Devils the needed cap space to announce the signing officially.We're told that there was no way that Gionta would have reported to camp otherwise.No word what the length/compensation will be, but an insider tells us a 3 year 9 million deal is very possible.As always keep it here for the latest

Thursday, September 14, 2006

OK, on first blush we at FAUXRUMORS were as astonished by the 15 year DiPietro deal as almost all others. We were told to expect a long term deal, as much as 10 years, but never in our wildest dreams did we see this coming.Like all others we also thought what is this guy (Wang) thinking? Is he nuts?Well, he probably is based upon other moves and statements he's made over the years, but is this particular move really all that bad?The key will be how well DiPietro plays. If he's merely a mediocre goalie over the next 3-5 years, then this deal will be considered a huge bust. However, even if that should occur there is an out for Wang.That is, if he's willing to eat some of that money to buy some cap space.Hear us out here: Lets say DiPietro sucks toast in 4 years. Well, all Wang has to do is ship him off to the AHL to ride busses and the Isles are saved his 4.5 mil on the cap.(Wang still has to pay him)If Ricky decides he doesn't want to ride the busses, or retire, then both the Isles and Wang are off the hook.However, if DiPietro should finally develop into a top 5 goalie then this deal is a brilliant piece of work. Renegotiation is NOT allowed! Lets say that in 5 years Ricky is a Vezina trophy winner, he could very well be in the bottom half of salaries paid to goalies with no recourse to change this.If after another 5 years DiPietro begins to wane, they still have the AHL option available. Therefore, this contract is only a gamble in as much as Wang is willing to eat the contract should it not work out.Definitely not as 'Dippy' as many are making it out to be.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Many in the NHL were shocked at yesterday's offer sheet from the Flyers for young Vancouver restricted free agent forward Ryan KeslerIt has been almost a decade since Carolina tried to lure Sergei Fedorov from the Wings with a huge front loaded deal, that many thought the days of RFA's getting an offer sheet were essentially over.

Even with the new CBA, making offers like yesterday a potential strategy to be used by teams when they see one of their opponets in cap trouble by making an offer they can't match, it wasn't used last year.The question now is, will this be an isolated occurrence, or become more widely used?It would seem to make sense that GM's could use the offer sheet as an effective weapon, however its not likely. Why? Most of these guys realize that they will have to work with eachother for trades and other moves, so they don't want to become isolated if they were to be the one who screws other GM's.

FAUXRUMORS fully expects the Gionta rumors to begin to swirl around now. "Who will make an offer for him with NJ in a cap bind"? The answer is simple: No one! Lou Lamarello being one of the most respected GM's is likely to not be a target.Also to signing a player to a big contract has a double edge to it. Not only do you commit valuable salary cap money to one player, you also potentially lose out on 4-5 1st round draft picksHowever, more subtler moves to pick up a 2nd tier forward will probably be a bit more common from here on out, where the loss won't be more than a 2nd rounder.As always keep it here for all the latest.

1) Anson Carter- Well, it appears that Bobby Clarke threw a monkey wrench into the Canucks plan to bring back their forward. With the anticipated matching by Vancouver of the Flyers offer sheet for Kesler, it will leave the Canucks with virtually no cap space to sign Carter. This will certainly reignite the Carter to Detroit or Toronto, rumors that were so hot last week. Ironically, the Flyers may now also be in the Carter sweep stakes.Mike Dunham- As predicted by FAUXRUMORS last week, the NY born perennial back up will likely be invited to Islanders training camp and be DiPietro's under study this season.Victor Kozlov- When a well placed source told FAUXRUMORS last week that Kozlov would be settling for the worst team in the East we assumed he was talking about the Washington Crapitols. Apparently they meant the Islanders, who announced they found their replacement for underachieving Russian Kvasha, with the underachieving Russian Kozlov. No word yet if the # 12 will be assigned.Brian Leetch- It appears that a deadline may be looming for Leetch "to either shit or get off the pot", as one well placed source tells FAUXRUMORS he was told by NY GM Glen Sather. The apparent stumbling block remains Mrs Leetch. No word if she prefers Ottawa winters to NY's?Eric Daze- I'm sure our Montreal readers would love to hear about an impending Daze signing to the Habs. We're told he's in as good a shape as he's been in for 5 years. No apparent pain. However, at this stage, he'd have to settle on a 1 year deal at a little over the league minimum.Brian Gionta- Talks continue. Brian is paying for insurance to come to camp which shows that talks are going well. As before we're told that he is willing to accept slightly less money for more years. We're told a one year deal is possible if no further movement is seen. Our prediction still is Brian will be in the Devils lineup in October for about 3 mil.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Just a quick post to pat ourselves on our backs this morning. Apparently 2 of FAUXRUMORS most recent rumors have been proved true.Firstly, even with the entire media, and several of the more notable rumor sites having the Flyers Gagne situation all but at a stale mate, we predicted that it would soon be resolved. Bob Clarke is the most untrustworthy GM in the game. Hint: Take whatever he says and assume the exact oppositeNext, many yesterday, including the rumor-whore(Eklund) had DiPietro barred from Islander training camp, and Biron traded from Buffalo to be their starter. Today we hear that what FAUXRUMORS has been saying all along appears to be correct. Apparently Wang and DiPietro's agent are working on a 10-15 year deal. No other media outlet except FAUXRUMORS had mentioned this as a possibility.As always keep it here for the latest and most reliable hockey rumors!

Monday, September 11, 2006

1) Despite what the rumor-whore(Eklund) is reporting today, our legitimate, and informed sources tell FAUXRUMORS that negotiations with DiPietro and the Islanders are continuing nicely, thank you."There is absolutely no truth to the Biron trade rumor that was published earlier today", our source tells us. We can't see this going more than another day or 2 at the most.2) As many might recall the Islanders have a policy to not negotiate with players once training camp starts, so this has led to wild speculation that DiPietro will either be traded or sit all together.It would be a remarkable turn of events if that were to occur. As our source put it, " You can almost bet the ranch that Wang won't let this spiral out of control".As always keep it here for the latest as this and the other stories unfold.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

A quality blog is only as good as its sources. To that end we at FAUXRUMORS are thankful for the many who have stepped forward since we created this blog with incredibly insightful, and useful 'inside' information that no other blogger or mainstream writer had.However a blog can never have too many credible sources. To that end we here at FAUXRUMORS are reaching out to any and all who are connected to the sports world, especially the NHL.While we already have multiple sources in all 30 NHL cities we will never turn away a TRUE legitimate source. We have had plenty of BS artists who pose as insiders, but they are quickly exposed. Our E-mail address is available at our FAUXRUMORS profile page.We look forward to hearing from you, and beginning a working relationship for our mutual benefit.

New York Rangers: Unlike their cross-town rivals, the Rangers did a good job of ridding themselves of crap(Poti, Sykora, Martin Rucinsky) and adding grit, leadership and experience (Brendan Shanahan, Aaron Ward, Cullen as well as Karel Rachunek. As long as tender Henrik Lundqvist doesn't suffer a sophomore slump and leading man Jaromir Jagr remains interested in playing, the Rangers should be again be a playoff team. Grade B

New Jersey Devils: With the bad contracts to Alex Mogilny and Vladimir Malakhov last season, the Devils are in a salary-cap bind, and have thus far been unable to sign leading scorer, Brian Gionta. Naming Claude Julien their new coach was a head scratcher. Overall the Devils were the quietly effective this off-season, re-signing three players (Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias and Colin White) to long-term contract extensions, and getting Scott Gomez under contract from another year through arbitration. Any team with Martin Brodeur in goal can competeand we expect lou to get all his ducks in a row before October. Grade B

Philadelphia Flyers: The news is mostly positive, as it relates to Peter Forsberg, who may not miss as much time as originally anticipated, but not good for Primeau, who may need to retire. The Flyers need to get Simon Gagne, their leading scorer, signed to a new contract, but mostly, they need to stay healthier than they were a year ago, when injuries decimated a team that, on paper, looked as if it could challenge for a championship. Michal Handzus sillily was sacrificed to Chicago in order to get Kyle Calder. Otherwise, the Flyers have mostly decided to stand pat and see how things evolve. Defense and goaltnding remain questions. Grade C-

Pittsburgh Penguins: Much of the off-season drama revolved around Russian centre Evgeni Malkin, who left Russia, in the hopes of playing in the NHL. Malkin's presence will give the Penguins a young, one-two punch down the middle with Sidney Crosby unlike anything the NHL has seen since the heady days of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. The Penguins brought Recchi back, added an agitator Jarkko Ruutu; and traded for Nils Ekman, who had 57 points for San Jose last season. Pittsburgh's future looks bright; it may be a year or more, however, before the turnaround finally occurs. Grade B

New York Islanders: Most dysfunctional organization in NHL history? The Isanders start the season with their former back-up goaltender, Garth Snow as GM, Ted Nolan behind the bench after an extended hiatus. Snow's predecessor, Neil Smith, lasted all of six weeks started the process of signing mid-market free agents (Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt, Tom Poti, Chris Simon) and Snow eventually added Sean Hill to a roster replete with other journeymen. Expect a new long term contract for Rick DiPietro. When not playing they'll be going with Wade Dubielewicz between the pipes. It's hard to imagine any scenario in which the Islanders compete any time soon. Grade D-

FAUXRUMORS is pleased to announce a very ambitious schedule this fall. Pending final approval, and ironing out the logistics, we intend to visit each and every NHL city before the end of calendar year 2006.

Thats a significant under taking that will require quite a bit of travel and planning, but we are excited at the prospect of meeting in person some of our many sources, as well as our ever increasing legion of loyal readers.

After each visit we will detail our travels here exclusively for FAUXRUMORS readers.If you are going to be at a game that FAUXRUMORS will be attending, be sure to let us know in advance so we can do some tailgating prior to the game.

We would also love to get each city's fans advice on where to go for food and drinks while in town.Stay tuned to FAUXRUMORS in the up coming weeks to see where we will be on our 3 month journey around the NHL's 30 cities.

Friday, September 8, 2006

1) According to published reports, Buffalo net minder, 26 year old Ryan Miller signed a 3 year, 8 million dollar deal today. For those who have been reading the FAUXRUMORS blog, this isn't a surprise. We have been anticipating this move for days now.2) Also Thrasher net minder Kari Lehtonen has been signed to $3.7-million, two year deal.With those 2 starting goalies under contract, that leave Rick DiPietro of the Islanders as the last starter who has yet to be inked.Word on Long Island is that despite the signings of today, and the fact that both of those players had much better years than DiPietro, expect him to get top dollars and a LONG term deal within a week. FAUXRUMORS has been told to expect a 5 year 25 million dollar deal minimum.As always, keep it here for all the latest

The much anticipated off season moves assessment of NHL teams of FAUXRUMORS will be published sometime next week with the beginning of camp. As with previous seasons we will probably publish a preseason prediction prior to the season opener as we see how the various teams progress as camp winds down. We will also have a slightly better gauge on opening night rosters.To our loyal readers we haven't given up on our expose of 'outing Eklund'. It has taken a great deal longer than anticipated. Be certain we WILL publish it as soon as ALL the facts are collated.As always keep it here for the latest

Thursday, September 7, 2006

To make this an easy read we will publish our assessment of each division: The South East today. The grade doesn't mean how well the team will do this season, but how we feel they addressed heir needs this offseason.

Atlanta Thrashers: The Thrashers' biggest hole will be at center, where Marc Savard was lost as a free agent and Patrik Stefan traded to Dallas. This only leaves Bobby Holik, Niko Kapanen and Steve Rucchin as their 1-2-3 down the middle. They upgraded their defence by snapping up Vitali Vishnevski from Anaheim and if he works out as well as Niclas Havelid, then the Thrashers may challenge for a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. Especially if goaltender Kari Lehtonen stays healthy and starts to live up to his potential. Johan Hedberg, is a steadier back-up than what they had last season. Grade C+

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes lost a few good of players off last year's Cup team, including Gerber, their No. 1 goaltender until the playoffs; along with 2nd line forward Matt Cullen and top 6 defender, Aaron Ward, plus their two rent-a-players, Doug Weight and Mark Recchi. Cam Ward, the Conn Smythe trophy winner, now has the # 1 spot. He'll be backed up by ex-Lightning netminder, the inconsistent John Grahame. The Hurricane picked up leadership with former Nashville Predators captain Scott Walker and then plugged a few more holes with the signings of Trevor Letkowski, Brad Isbister and Tanabe. Sophomore forward Andrew Ladd should have a more enhanced role early, as off-season shoulder surgery could keep 76-point scorer Cory Stillman out for the first three months. Grade C

Tampa Bay Lightning: The decision to sign Brad Richards to that huge contract largely handcuffed them from the moves that they could make. They tried to address their goaltending issues by acquiring Marc Denis from Columbus, who has never been the next Patrick Roy as advertised years ago, and had to give up Freddie Modin, a 31-goal man, to get it done. Kubina was lost as a free agent and was replaced by Filip Kuba. The ever-slow, Luke Richardson was also added as blueline insurance. Richards, Vinnie Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis)should ensure that they're competitive again. Or at least able to score some goals. Grade C

Florida Panthers: Biggest change is the revamping, to their detriment, the entire goaltending crew to acquire Bertuzzi. Now leaving it in the hands of elderly Ed Belfour, and the untested as a #1 Alex Auld. If they can get the job done between them, the Panthers could be improved. Their better young players (Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss) are beginning to develop. Bertuzzi certainly needed this change of scenery to get his career back on track. The free agent signing of Ruslan Salei will help, and Bryan Allen adds a big body on defence. Former general manager Mike Keenan — tried but failed to land Pronger or Jovavoski in July, the signing of Finn Ville Peltonen to play with leading scorer Olli Jokinen adds more scoring depth to a club that only had three players with more than 50 points. Grade B-

Washington Capitals: They have the NHL's most exciting players Alex Ovechkin, but little else. Pothier will help the defence; Zednik could add a little more scoring up front. The Caps have unrealisticly high hopes for former 1st rounder Alexander Semin, who returns after a messy contract dispute. The only other news of the summer was signing goon winger Donald Brashear. Most believe the Caps overachieved last season and still were bad enough to finish 14th in the conference. Grade D+

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Brian Leetch- As has been reported here for much of the past month, he has an offer from a New York area team. Published reports have mentioned the Rangers. Money/lenth is NOT the hold up. Apparently Mrs Leetch isn't sure she wants to return to NY.

Brian Gionta- Talks continue. Brian is willing to accept slightly less for more years, but Lou isn't sure if what we saw last year will continue. We're told a one year deal is possible if no further movement is seen. Neither side wants a hold out. Our prediction is Brian will be in the Devils lineup in October for 3 mil.

Simon Gagne- Published reports today indicate a stalemate between the sides. FAUXRUMORS has learned throughout the years to NOT believe anything Bobby, call me Bob Clarke says publicly. If he says one thing, its likely the other. Which means a deal is imminent. What is unlikely is a trade.

Anson Carter- The rumor-whore(Eklund) is spouting a Detroit destination, while we are hearing a return to Vancouver is very possible. Nothing imminent though

Rick Dipietro- As reported here exclusively(Later picked up by the Rumor-whore) is that Ricky will soon be inked to a long term, lucrative deal. More details soon forthcoming.

Ryan Miller- See above. though the financial terms for Ryan will be a bit more conservative than what Ricky will get on the Island.

Victor Kozlov- A bit of an enigma. Has talent to be top 6 forward, but too inconsistent. Last rumor had caps interested, but why?

We're told that we may finally see some movement in the New Jersey situation. Our sources in the swamp inform FAUXRUMORS that several player personnel moves may be made prior to camp opening next week.The opinion of FAUXRUMORS is that these deals won't be of the major variety. We don't expect Gomez or Gionta to be dealt. However, with Lou Lamarello anything is possible. But don't expect wiley ole Lou to make any move that would weaken his squad.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Many have been wondering what took Malkin so long to come to terms with the Penquins. After all he's been in the U.S. for a better part of a month now. Its not like he can hold out for more money with the rookie cap. Well the real story has yet to be printed anywhere in the main stream press. Those of you, our loyal readers, will be among the first to read the true story behind the scenes.

Thanks to several well placed sources within the Pens organization, and inside the Russian Hockey Federation, FAUXRUMORS has learned that Malkin and the Penquins have been in negotiations with Malkin's former team Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Although his former team has no legal recourse, it is believed they will be compensated at least a million U.S dollars for Malkin.Why? The answer is simple. Coercion. Or in more blunt terms, its hush or 'protection money'. For despite Malkin's presence within the U.S. he has quite a large family that would have been very vulnerable had Malkin simply left without giving up a 'pound of flesh' in the form of considerable monetary compensation.

For the past 2 weeks, he, his representatives and the Penquins have been behind the scenes trying to work out a deal where Evgeny would play in Pittsburgh , and his family would be allowed to continue to work and live in peace back home.

We're told that this past weekend a break through occurred when Malkin himself offered to pony up up to 500,000 of his own money. Its not certain where the other 500K will come from. It IS legal under the current system for the Penquin organization to pay the Russian team, but they are not obligated to do so.

Perhaps Malkin would have only played this season in the NHL if he was given the assurances that his new team would help defray the costs of his transfer.What IS known is that once his NHL contract is signed, the million will be sent to Russia to satisfy his old team, and his family can live in peace, and without fear.No word if this deal will form the basis for a future European transfer agreement, or if this is a unique case.As always keep it here for all the latest!

Just to add to our earlier post. We hear at FAUXRUMORS stand behind our original post that Malkin does NOT want to play in Pittsburgh in the shadow of Sidney Crosby.The recent deal with his former Russian team, along with the pens impending sale made it difficult to shop Malkin. However, if Malkin doesn't get off to an Ovechkin-like start, expect the trade rumors to again to begin to swirl around the 19 year old Russian phenom.As always, keep it here, and stay ahead of the curve for the latest!

Friday, September 1, 2006

Our sources in NY tell FAUXRUMORS that the Isles are preparing to make an announcement about their goaltending situation. Its not clear yet whether that means that the long awaited DiPietro signing will soon take place, or if they are close to signing a back up.

We were told yesterday that Charles Wang and DiPietro are tennis/basketball partners so negotiations have been jockular to say the least. No word if the terms of the deal will be decided by a friendly game of one on one. ; )

Seriously though, we have heard that the term of the deal could be as long as 10 years like Yashin, but unlikely to be any shorter than 5. The money in the range of 5-6 mil/year would place DiPietro in the top tier of salaries for his position.The 25 year old, cocky Massachusetts native solidified his grasp on the team's starting position 2 years ago, but has yet to display consistency that the team expected when he was drafted 1st overall in 2000. Spurning Heatley and Gaborik in the process.

As for names we're hearing as back up. The Isles have a penchant for American born tenders, so it would make sense to bring in Rhode Island's Brian Boucher, or upstate NY native Mike Dunham. Both have been rumored to be headed there over the past month.As always keep it here for the latest!